London Irish Rugby

The South African Rugby team that defeated the Australian Rugby team at the Rugby Championships on the 27^th of September, 2014 included Teboho Mohoje. Mohoje was selected to be a part of the team before the expert player Schalk Burger.

This selection has surely raised the debate related to racism once again in South Africa which is trying really hard to forget its Apartheid past.

Mohoje had earlier not been selected for the matches against New Zealand, Australia and Argentina because white players such as Warren Whiteley and Juan Smith were preferred. The media in South Africa had taken up this issue very seriously and the media had put forward this vital question: Are the players in South African Rugby team only selected on the basis of their skin color?

When Mohoje was selected to play against Wallabies in Cape Town before Schalk Burger, Heyneke Meyer (coach of Springboks) had to really defend this decision in the best possible manner claiming that Mohoje was selected truly on the basis of merit and not his skin color.

Teboho Mohoje played for around fifty-five minutes during the match and was then replaced by Burger. Meyer said that he was very happy to see that the crowd applauded for Mohoje which makes it clear that Mohoje played well and had made South Africa proud.

Captain of Springboks- Jean de Villiers said that the South African media insulted certain players by claiming that they were chosen just on the basis of their race. However, he thinks the way these players performed prove to the world that they were chosen on merit and no other criteria.

More importantly, South African Rugby Union is planning to create quotas in order to increase the number of non-white players in Springboks. Some people are supporting this decision whereas some people are completely against this newly designed racial quota system.

Jonny Wilkinson and Brian O’Driscoll are the two players of legendary status bid adieu to the sport recently. It was a fitting conclusion to their careers as both of them ended on a winning note. Jonny Wilkinson became the third captain to win back to back European Cups joining the likes of Leicester’s Martin Johnson and Leinster’s Leo Cullen. Wilkinson’s team Toulon won the Heineken Cup thanks to some of his trademark moves on the field. He received a huge response from the crowd as every on stood on their feet and cheered their hero. His all important performance for England in 2003 had made him a superstar overnight. The last game that he played in his career was the final of the French Championship against Castres. The Toulon coach hailed his most trusted player adding the fact that he was successful in bringing a new dimension to the sport.

The greatest salutation that Jonny Wilkinson received was from his teammates. Each of them had the name of the legend stitched on the collar of their jerseys along with the message ‘Merci Jonny’. The club has already taken steps to ensure that the number 10 jersey which their talisman wore be retired from consideration. Toulon boss Bernard Laporte confirmed the news that Jonny will be a part of the coaching staff of the club from now onwards. Jonny spent five years at Toulon after leaving Newcastle Falcons. He himself was quoted saying that he had no regrets in the decision that he had to finally undertake. It was becoming difficult for him at his age to compete with the young and agile players. However he shall still remain in a league of his own as the youngsters will be looking up to him for inspiration. He might be seen in coaching jobs from now onwards.

The national team of Argentina Rugby nicknamed Los Pumas is organized by the Union Argentina de Rugby. It is currently ranked twelfth in the world by IRB making them the highest ranked team in the Americas. Over the years the sport has gained popularity in the football crazy nation owing to their impressive performances in the Rugby World Cup. The present head coach of the team, Daniel Hourcade, who has had previous experience in Argentina Jaguars and Pampas XV has promised some impressive results from his team in the upcoming fixtures of the Rugby Championship 2014. Their campaign kicks off in South Africa with the match against the Boks on August 16^th. The Argentina Rugby side will be lead by Agustin Creevy along with former captains like Juan Fernandez Lobbe and Juan Manuel Leguizamon. The defense of the team looks quite strong with the likes of experienced and talented players like Juan Imhoff, Marcelo Bosch and Juan Martin Hernandez. The star forward Marcos Ayerza is also tipped to make his country proud.

However the team has received a major setback due to the injury of their star performer Juan Imhoff. The Racing Metro speedster suffered an injury to the second metatarsal of his right foot during their warm up match against Top 14 outfit Grenoble. The French side put up a strong performance against the International side. Argentine coach Hourcade has called up Duendes centre Jeronimo de la Fuente as a replacement for Juan Imhoff, although Imhoff is expected to join his team later in the season. Argentina Rugby has been on the resurgence since the 2007 season although their last campaign was not so impressive owing to the losses against England and Wales. Yet the fans are expected be out in huge numbers and voicing their support for the team composed of youth and experience.